11 Chrome extensions every journalist should have

Journalists don’t have time to spare when they’re on a tight deadline. Interhacktives has got your back! There is a list of the best Google Chrome extensions for journalists to install on your browser that will speed up the process. Or at least it will keep you from checking Twitter as often.

The list of Chrome extensions for journalists:

• TinEye A definite must-have for anyone working on verification. This tool can tell you where an image is from, and where it’s been used. You’ll also be able to search for similar images with higher resolutions. Win-win.
• WebScraper Still not sure how to scrape data with R? This is an extension made with data journalists in mind. Give this a go. You’ll be able to scrape multiple pages and then export it all into a CSV file.
• ColorPicker This tool may not seem essential for reporters, but think of how much you can do when you have the exact colour of a webpage. It’s definitely a tool to have to up your game when you’re making cover images for articles or even CVs for job applications.
• Boomerang A life-saver for all you night-owls who write important emails at 2 am, but leave it in drafts so they can be sent at a ‘reasonable’ hour. This extension gives you the ability to schedule emails, to pause inboxes (finally) and to send automatic follow-up emails. How productive!
• StayFocusd Speaking of productivity, if you want to stop yourself from checking your Twitter feed every five minutes, then this Chrome extension will be handy. It blocks out specific pages for as long as you’d like. Probably not the best idea for social media managers.

More tips…

• SaveToPocket Remember that journalists never have time? That applies to read other people’s articles too! Luckily, SaveToPocket allows you to bookmark certain articles for later when you do have a few extra minutes to spare. It’s a really neat reading list after all.
• Grammarly Forget Microsoft Word spellchecker, Grammarly allows you to see all your little mistakes everywhere you type. Even better, it looks at more than just your spelling, telling you when you’ve missed a word or phrase too.
• CrowdTangle This is for all you social media gurus out there. CrowdTangle allows you to see who’s shared your link on which platform, and the basic reach it received. The extension still needs a bit of improvement, but it’s great to have on your browser now.
• Google Keep If you find anything on the web that you think you’ll need to use later, literally anything, click on this button. It’ll save it to your Google account, meaning you can open it on any device you have. Maybe this should have come pre-installed with all Chrome browsers.
• The Great Suspender This aptly-named extension kills off any tabs in the background while you’re not using them, and you can refresh them again with the click of a button. Don’t lie to yourself, you know you have loads of unused tabs on your computer right now.
• Momentum Full disclosure: this is a not journo-specific chrome extension, but everyone should download it nonetheless. Every time you open a new tab, Momentum will show you a beautiful image and your glaring to-do list. And it works!

Did we miss anything? Tweet us @interhacktives and tell us what drives you to meet your deadline!

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Originally published at www.interhacktives.com on March 4, 2019.